Maybe #MeToo Has Gone too Far, But That’s a *Good* Thing

Trigger Warning: Discussion of accusations of sexual harassment, assault, rape, #MeToo, #TimesUp, #TheEmptyChair, Harvey Weinstein, Bill Cosby, Larry Nassar, and the social consequences of all of this.

There’s a lot of talk lately about whether the #MeToo movement has gone too far, especially after the accusations about Aziz Ansari came out. And honestly? It’s a good question to ask. Society is experiencing a massive shift, and people who once got away with horrid behavior are now, finally, being held accountable for it. Often, that means being held accountable for mis-judged comments or creepy behavior. Many times, it means getting in trouble for violating consent. And it also means being held accountable for assault and/or rape.

I think that, in a way, it has gone too far. But the twist?

I don’t think that’s a bad thing. In fact, I’m glad it’s going too far, and I think it can go further.

And here’s why…

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Some Stream-of-Consciousness About Nazis

I haven’t posted about Nazi invasion and terrorist attack in Charlottesville because I’m feeling… well…

You can easily see my thoughts and things on Facebook, where I let loose a tad with the re-posts…

But anyways…

I don’t really have much to say, to be honest. I’m grappling with my feelings, because, at the moment, I have to deal with the fact that I genuinely feel fine seeing these Nazis killed… and I’m not okay with that. That does not make me comfortable or happy. It seems like a betrayal of my ethics, considering I’m against the death penalty.

But these are also Nazis. I don’t think there’s another group in modern history that can be considered as evil as Nazis. And now they’re here, in the United States, in 2017, marching in our streets and killing citizens.

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Does Famous Feminist Anita Sarkeesian HATE The New Doctor?!?

As is usually the case with titles that pose such questions, the answer is… no.

But some people seem to think so.

For those who don’t know, the Feminist Frequency Twitter account posted a short thread in response to the announcement of Jodie Whittaker as the next Doctor. A lot of people seem to be taking it as Anita being really angry at the announcement.

Of course, it seems as if people only picked out one or two tweets from the thread. But if you see the whole thing, you realize that, of course, not only is it much ado about nothing, but Anita had some really important points worth discussing. I’m not just going to post the entire 7-tweet thread here, so please go check it out in full. I will post three of the tweets, however, because it is worth discussing…

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#BlackLivesMatter Philando Castile’s Murderer Found Innocent

Also late to this (warning: that link includes the Facebook video of Philando’s death; it does not include the more recent dashcam as far as I can tell; I will not be sharing that)…

Jeronimo Yanez, the Minnesota police officer who fatally shot Philando Castile during a traffic stop last year, was found not guilty of second-degree manslaughter Friday.

He also was acquitted of two counts of intentional discharge of firearm that endangers safety.

Castile’s death garnered widespread attention — and sparked nationwide protests over the use of force by police — after his girlfriend broadcast the shooting’s aftermath on Facebook Live.

Not guilty? Fucking not guilty?

I just… I…

#BlackLivesMatter #SayHerName Charleena Lyles

Another one…

I’m late to this one, I know. I’m sorry.

Seattle police officers shot and killed a woman at her apartment Sunday morning in front of “several children” when the woman, who relatives said was pregnant, “confronted” them with a knife, according to a statement from authorities.

The Seattle Times reported that the 30-year-old woman had called police to report a possible burglary.

At a vigil Sunday night, family identified the woman as Charleena Lyles, according to the Times, and relatives said she had a history of mental health struggles. She was several months pregnant, her family said, and too “tiny” for officers to have felt threatened by her — even if she had a knife.

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Stop. Defending. Bigots. Even Liberal Ones.

Warning: This post is filled with even more strong language than usual. I’m angry, okay?

I get it.

I get that I cuss a lot, on Facebook, here on this blog… and I very often don’t do it in anger. I very often cuss in the routine of speaking. It’s part of my language… my voice. Some people think it’s crude. I get that. I also don’t care. But I am angry as hell, here. I’m sick and tired of this conversation.

So yes. More cussing than usual.

No. I’m not linking to it. I’m not going to bore you with the rehashed details of Bill Maher’s latest bigoted bullshit, when he a made a racist joke using the n-word in full.

You already know it all.

See, instead, what I want to talk about is all his defenders. All those supposedly “liberal” people who insist that “oh no! Bill Maher isn’t racist! He has black guests! He dates young black women! He’s the opposite of a racist!” and then absolutely demand that we must “allow differences of opinion! He has freedom of speech! Black people are allowed to say it! Why aren’t white people?!?”

So here’s the problem…

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This is Unfiltered, Unbridled Propaganda

(h/t PZ Myers)

I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. This is Fox News, after all. Of course it’s courting this transparent propaganda. But here I am, actually shocked that this disgusting piece was aired. Here’s the full YouTube Video. I’m also going to include a transcript below the fold, with my responses (though starting of with PZ’s response to the beginning, because it was perfect).

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This is What Comes from White Supremacy

Yesterday, on May 27, it was reported that a White Supremacist got on the MAX train in Northeast Portland. He saw two teenage girls, one of whom was wearing a hijab, and immediately launched into a racist, Islamophobic tirade.

Two teenage girls boarded a MAX train in downtown heading to Northeast Portland early Friday evening when a man got on at a later stop and immediately launched into a racial tirade as soon as they caught his eye.

“He was saying that Muslims should die,” said Dyjuana Hudson, a mother of one of the girls. “That they’ve been killing Christians for years.”

Hudson recounted what her daughter, Destinee, told her hours after police tracked down the man as he ran from the rush-hour train into the Hollywood neighborhood. Other passengers chased him from a distance and called 911.

Three Good Samaritans attempted to intervene. One is in the hospital, and the other two are dead.

Two men were killed in a stabbing on a MAX train Friday when they tried to intervene as another man yelled racial slurs at two young women who appeared to be Muslim, including one wearing a hijab, police said.

A third passenger who tried to help was also stabbed, but is expected to survive, said Portland police spokesman Sgt. Pete Simpson.

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TAIWAN SAYS YES!!!!!!

This. Is. Fucking. AWESOME!!!!!!

(Thanks to Tony at The Progressive Pub @ The Orbit for the news, link, picture, caption, and quotes below the fold.)

Image is text. Taiwan in large font against a white backdrop. The colors of the rainbow flag fill in the name of the country. Under Taiwan appears ‘ Says “Yes!” ‘ Lower left appears to hashtags: FirstInAsia and EqualInLove Amnesty International logo appears in bottom right.

Image is text. Taiwan in large font against a white backdrop. The colors of the rainbow flag fill in the name of the country. Under Taiwan appears ‘ Says “Yes!” ‘ Lower left appears to hashtags: FirstInAsia and EqualInLove Amnesty International logo appears in bottom right.

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